Dyed glass fiber yarn



Aug. 24, 1965 R. F. CAROSELLI ETAL 3,201,931

DYED GLASS FIBER YARN Filed March 22, 1962 INVENTORS REM/s E Cmwsau & Faun/0 A. GAGA/0N Arrow/Ems United States Patent 3,201,931 DYED GLASS FIBER YARN Remus F. Caroselli and Roland K. Gaguon, Cumberland,

R.I., assignors to Owens-Coming Fiberglas Corporatiou, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar, 22, 1962, Ser. No. 181,795 4 Claims. (Cl. 57-153) This invention relates to the production of dyed glass fiber yarns and more particularly relates to a method for effectively forming colored yarns which may be used to produce glass fabrics having novel design and multicolor effects.

In many ways, glass fibers constitute an ideal material for textile fabrics, such as are used in dress goods, draperies, curtains and the like. Some of the advantages that are achieved with fabrics produced from glass fiber yarns are that such fabrics never need ironing, cannot burn, are shrink-resistant, dirt-resistant, stain-resistant, and rot and mildew-proof. Methods of finishing glass cloth have been developed so that glass fabric may now be produced which have good hand and soft drape and which clean easily and stand up under continued handling.

In order to develop some of these desirable characteristics, the fabric, after being woven, is subjected to intense heat of approximately 1200 F. or more to soften and relax the yarn and to give a permanent set to the weave. This results in fabrics which are permanently wrinkle-proof. The heat treated fabric is then passed through a finishing treatment which gives it a high resistance to abrasion, after which it is cured and an after treatment which gives it wash fastness, and water repellency is applied and the fabric is again cured.

In order to develop deep, even shades the pigments normally used in the dyeing of glass fabrics have usually been organic. Because organic pigments are subject to decomposition at elevated temperatures the glass fabrics have heretofore had to be either solid colored or printed following the Weaving process as no successful method of dyeing continuous yarn had been devised by which colored yarns, which would withstand excessive temperatures on the order of 1200 F., were satisfactorily produced. Styling flexibility achieved in fabrics formed from glass fiber yarn was thus limited to standard piece dyeing or printing of this type of fabric.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a dyed glass yarn which will provide for a wider degree of styling flexibility in fabrics woven therefrom than has been heretofore possible.

Another object of this invention is to provide a glass,

. which in turn may be heat treated at elevated temperatures to set the weave and relax the yarn, said colored yarn being resistant to the elevated temperatures required under such heat treatments to the extent that the strength characteristics and the color are not adversely affected or alternatively that a heat stable color is developed on and in the yarn at the elevated temperatures.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for producing such a colored glass fiber yarn.

These and other objects will become more evident during the course of the following discussions.

In accordance with the method of this invention, yarns comprised of continuous glass filaments are bulked by feeding the yarn into a jet of air or other compressible fluid so that the yarn is supported by the jet of air and 3,201,931 ?atented Aug. 24, 1965 the individual filaments are separated from each other and whipped about violently in the turbulent area. In the process of this invention it is only necessary for the yarn to be passed through a zone of suflicient turbulence for a suflicient distance to separate the filaments and form them into convolutions and other means for forming a turbulent zone may be used. The bulked continuous yarn thus produced is then fed through a dye bath of finely ground colloidally dispersed inorganic pigments, after which the excess dye is removed from the yarn and the dye impregnated yarn is dried.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is an enlarged view of a yarn which comprises filaments shown in coils, loops and whorls; and

FIGURE 2 is a similar view of a yarn with pigment added.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, the following defines a method of carrying out this invention. A single end yarn comprised of continuous filaments of glass is texturized by jetting a stream of air so as to form a turbulent area around the yarn as it is drawn there through in accordance with the disclosure of US. Patent No. 2,783,609, which issued March 5, 1957, to A. L. Breen. The bulked yarn 10 thus produced is passed into and through an aqueous dye bath having a finely divided inorganic pigment 12 dispersed therein. The yarn is thereby well impregnated and pigment is actually entrapped within the yarn as well as being absorbed on the surfaces of the glass filaments 11. The treated yarn is then passed between opposed resilient rollers whereby the excess dye bath solution is removed at the same time that the dye solution is picked up by the bulked yarn and evenly distributed throughout said yarn.

The specific formulation of the dye bath used is as follows: 210 grams of Lemon Yellow No. 10,106 pigment, supplied by B. F. Drakenfeld Company, Inc., is added to 3055 grams of water and intimately dispersed therein. The pigment as supplied by B. F. Drakenfeld is in the form of a paste which comprises finely ground cadmium-type ceramic pigment in an aqueous dispersion to which a non-ionic surface active agent, a colloidal suspending agent and a preservative have been added. The pigment was initially prepared by calcining the raw materials at a high temperature and grinding the resultant product so that all the particles pass a 325 mesh screen.

The yarn is continuously passed through the dye bath at a rate of about 220 feet per minute and then into an oven which is maintained at a temperature of about 600 F. The resultant dried yarn is dyed an even, deep shade' of yellow which will not rub off or bleed during subsequent treatment. This yarn is then woven, with one or more different colored yarns, to form a fabric in whichthe design is actually woven into the fabric, thus creating novel design and multicolor effects.

The woven fabric is then passed directly to a weave set oven which is operating at a temperature of about 1200 F. This oven softens and relaxes the glass, putting' a permanent crimp in the yarn and setting the weave for all time. This treatment provides the wrinkle-proof feature of glass fiber fabric. In the oven, the volatiles remaining in the dyed yarn are volatilized and the pigment is actually fused to the filaments to some extent. The Lemon Yellow No. 10,106 pigment has a metallic base which retains its color at the treating temperature.

The heat treated fabric is then passed through a finishing bath and into a curing oven operated at 320 F. wherein the film forming resin contained in the finishing bath is cured on the cloth to provide a high resistance to abrasion plus good hand and soft drape. Various typical finishing compositions as well as conditions of applications are disclosed in the patent to R. F. Caroselli et al. No. 2,686,737. A further after treatment with a water repellent such as stearato-chromyl chloride is'provided.

by passing the resin coated cloth into a bath containing the water repellent and then into a second curing oven maintained at a temperature of 340 F. \Vash'fastness.

and Water repellency are thus imparted to the fabric and the fabric isnow readly for further fabrication steps.

Ceramic type pigmentscomposed of complex inorganic compounds such as iron, chromium, zinc, cobalt, copper,

aluminum, cadmium, and selenium,-have proven to be especially valuable in the practice of this invention. These pigments may be, by way of example, initially prepared by intimately mixing a vitrifiable base and a ceramic color such as cadmium sulfideselenide red and then calcining the mixture at high temperatures. ceramic frit having the color fused therein is ground 'so that all particles will pass'a 325 mesh screen. This pro,- vides a finepowder which is heat and light stable, will not After calcination, the

compatible dispersing agents may be used to aid in dispersing the pigments. Such solvent systems are somewhat restrictive due to. the possibility of toxic fumes and fire hazards but they do provide an advantage as to drying the treated yarn.

The temperatures maintained in the drying and curing ovens are dependent on the speed of the yarn and the length of the pathof the yarnthrough the oven as well i .as the specific drying or curing treatment provided at that migrate or bleed and does not change color during processing. Preferably, the finely ground inorganic pigments are then dispersed in a water medium containing a nonionic surface active agent,-a colloidal suspending agent and the necessary preservative agent or fungicide. De-

pending on the type of pigment, the dispersion willgcon tain approximately between and 75% pigment. The

purpose of the non-ionic surface active agent and the col loidal suspending agent is to providea dye bath constituted of as true a dispersion of an inorganic pigment as is possible. The inorganic pigments used may alternatively be designed to develop colors at temperatures of about the addition of ammonia to give a pH in the range of 8 to 8.5 or slightly higher isnecessary to provide aid in dispersing the pigment. Other organic. compositions solids concentration may be used' equally as well, 'the only real criticality depending upon the amount of or ganic material finally picked up by the yarn prior to treatment at high temperatures. The amountv of organic particular stage of the process. Although220 feet per minute was given above,.by way of example, speeds greatly in'excess as well as slower speeds might equally as well be used dependent on percent dye pickup and subsequent heating conditions.

As stated herein, heretofore fabrics produced from glass fiber yarn were either dyed solid colors in the piece or printed. With yarns produced in accordance with the method of this invention, design andmulticolorelfects that. could not be achieved in standard piecedyeing or printing arean accomplished fact. Woven stripes, plaids and tweedeffects are just a few examples. With yarns produced in accordance with the method of this inven- 7 tion, fabrics can now be designed and woven with exwhich will provide a slightly more viscous bath at a low material is preferably kept at a minimum in order toinsure against flashing of the organic materials when the dyed'yarn is oven treated at temperatures of about, 1200 F. which may result in thebreakdown of the glass filaments. Also va high organic content at this stage might resultin adiscoloration due .to incomplete'corm bustion. I

When treating the woven fabric to soften and relax the yarn and set the weave,ptemperatures of -about 900 to 1250 F. and above are preferably maintained in the,

weave-set oven.

Alternativelyto the use of an aqueous dye bath, it has been found that the bulked yarns may be successfullyv dyed using dispersions of finely divided inorganic pigtraordinary versatility, equaling any other fiber in the curtain and drapery field.

a Minimum standards and physical properties of fabrics woven from yarns produced in accordance with the methods ofthis invention are at least the same as have been established for piece dyed glass fiber fabric materials. Exceptional light fastness is an inherent quality. of the yarns produced in accordance. with the method of. this invention. I i v Y Since'many different embodiments of the invention may be. made without departing from thespirit and scope thereof, it'is to be understood that the invention is not limited by" the specific illustration, except .to the extent defined in the, following claims. 1

We claim: 1

1. A. weavable, heat-settable, dyed glass yarn com prised of'substantially continuous filaments individually convoluted into coils, loops and whorls at random intervals' and impregnated throughout with a finely divided inorganic pigment, said pigment being entrapped .in said coils, loops and whorls of said yarn.

2. Weavable, heat-settable, dyed glass'yar'ns of claim 1 in fabric form;

3. A weavable, 'heat-settable, dyed glass yarn comprising continuous filaments individually convoluted ,in-to coils,'loops and whorls at random intervals to provide an open structure and a'fine ly' divided inorganic pigment uniformly distributed through and entrapped in the coils,

' loops and whorls of the yarn and heat'set upon the glass yarns. I j

ments in volatile organic liquids such as' petroleum or aromatic solvents. Usually 5 to"15% by weightof an inorganic pigment of the type above described is dispersed in a solvent such as toluol to fol'm the dye bath. .Solvent 4; Weavable, heat-settable, dyed glass yarn of claim 3 in the form of a woven fabric.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES. PATENTS 1,874,320 8/32 Lipari et a1. 139-417 2,593,818 4/52 Waggoner 57 -140 2,783,609 3/57 Breen '2872 3,060,549 10/62 Horton 57-140 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELLC. MADER, Examineh 

1. A WEAVABLE, HEAT-SETTABLE, DYED GLASS YARN COMPRISED OF SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS INDIVIDUALLY CONVOLUTED INTO COILS, LOOPS AND WHORLS AT RANDOM INTERVALS AND IMPREGNATED THROUGHOUT WITH A FINELY DIVIDED INORGANIC PIGMENT, SAID PIGMENT BEING ENTRAPPED IN SAID COILS, LOOPS AND WHORLS OF SAID YARN. 